The spectators on the scene, due to their limited view, didn’t have such a big reaction; their attention at this mont was entirely drawn to the Waseda cheering squad on the Alps Stand above third base.
First, the sound of the famous large taiko drums at the back of the stands began to play, the resounding drumbeats felt as if they were striking on people’s hearts, firm and powerful; followed imdiately by the music of the wind band, with all kinds of classic Koshien cheering songs appearing one after another—against the backdrop of the vigorous cheering music, Waseda Industries’ seventh batter Uesugi Yasuyuki walked into the batter’s box to stand firm.
Ono Yohei’s first pitch to Uesugi Yasuyuki was a cutter—after reaching the plate, it would shift to the outside corner for a right-handed Uesugi Yasuyuki, easily causing a ground ball.
"Pop."
"Strike."
Uesugi Yasuyuki hesitated for a mont but decided to watch one more pitch and let this outside cutter go.
On the second pitch, Ono Yohei used the sa tactic, continuing to attack Uesugi Yasuyuki’s outside corner—only this ti, the type of pitch changed slightly.
"Pop."
"Strike."
The baseball brushed past Uesugi Yasuyuki’s swinging bat and flew into the catcher’s glove behind the ho plate; the outside slider Ono Yohei just pitched successfully tricked Uesugi Yasuyuki, completely disrupting his swing rhythm.
Behind the ho plate, the Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School’s catcher Egami Kenji gave a thumbs up in the direction of his pitcher, praising the high-quality pitch.
In the batter’s box, Uesugi Yasuyuki, holding his bat with a serious expression, was clearly dissatisfied with his performance; this pitch completely fooled him and the opposing battery’s pitch-calling combination.
The cutter and slider are quite similar in trajectory, with their differences primarily in speed and amount of movent—sliders are slower than cutters, and cutters have less movent than sliders.
As a result, pitchers skilled in both pitches often use them in conjunction with fastballs; the combination of fastball-cutter-slider is enough to deceive most batters with changes in trajectory and speed.
Getting two strikes right at the start of the at-bat, the Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School battery was quite pleased with their performance; with confidence, the two exchanged a glance, understanding each other’s thoughts—they no longer wanted to drag it out but seize the opportunity to strike out the batter.
Ono Yohei looked at the squatting Egami Kenji behind ho plate, nodded to the signal, and threw the ball.
As anticipated, the crisp sound of the ball hitting the glove didn’t co; instead, there was a sharp explosion—
"Clang!!"
"He hit it!" The sound of the bat was as loud as a morning bell, waking up the sowhat drowsy audience on the Koshien stands bored by this pitcher’s duel.
The baseball landed in Central Field, in a spot just right in the unmanned area of Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School’s defense, giving Uesugi Yasuyuki enough ti to sprint—as a nimble catcher, he reached second base before the opposing fielder could return the ball to the infield.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!"
Hitting a double from behind a two-strike count as the lead-off batter, Uesugi Yasuyuki was quite excited on second base, continuously waving his arms toward his team’s dugout;
In response to him, Waseda’s teammates and cheering squad did not hold back their cheers and applause, making the loudest noise they could in celebration.
In contrast, on Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School’s side, the players on defense, especially their pitcher Ono Yohei, clearly did not look as good.
Noticing the change in his teammate’s mood, Egami Kenji promptly called a short tiout and went up the mound to comfort him along with the other infield teammates.
The captain in the shortstop position, Futaya Shoran, patted his own chest, confidently assuring his pitcher, "Yohei, you can pitch with ease! No matter the ball, we’ll stop it in the infield!"
Receiving this comfort and trust from his teammates, Ono Yohei nodded, indicating his understanding; once everyone returned to their defensive positions, he took a deep breath, clearing his mind of what happened in the previous at-bat and focusing on the batter in front of him.
From the results, the comfort from his teammates did help Ono Yohei stabilize his state of mind; at least in the ga, Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School withstood another fierce attack from Waseda:
The eighth batter, Manabe Kenta, followed the coach’s instructions to advance the runner with a sacrifice bunt but was quickly put out at first base by the watchful Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School;
The ninth batter, Sato Ken, whose weakness was batting, against the determined Chiben battery intent on taking him down, also resisted vehently, trying to contribute with a sacrifice fly, but the ball he hit didn’t fly far and ended up as a high pop fly easily caught by the opponent’s shortstop.
Waseda supporters were ecstatic for barely a mont before the situation on the field turned dramatically—two outs, a runner on third, a scenario that had occurred multiple tis over the past six and a half innings; except for Lin Guanglai’s 1-run hit in the bottom of the first inning, they hadn’t capitalized on other chances.
It seed that this scenario would repeat itself.
However, Waseda’s top-lineup batters, with their upcoming performances, told everyone hoping for them to fall into despair, "No!"
Once again facing two outs and a runner on third, only needing a single to bring the teammate ho for the lead, the third-year Shigetsugu Shinjiro was the first to step up.
"Clang!"
"Shigetsugu Shinjiro! Third-year Shigetsugu Shinjiro! He’s done it! This ti, Waseda’s batters didn’t let the scoring opportunity slip through their fingers—the direction of third base! Uesugi Yasuyuki is back at ho plate!"
"2:1!!! The Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournant champions, after nearly half a ga of silence, finally bared their fangs at their opponent again! This run is extrely crucial! It might even be the run that decides the outco of the ga!"
Back at ho plate scoring, Uesugi Yasuyuki high-fived and embraced each of his teammates, looking as though they had already won the ga.
After nearly five to six innings of stalemate, reversal of the score naturally deserved celebration from Waseda’s players—because even just this one point was a significant blow to the Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School players on the field, evident from the sowhat sluggish expressions on their faces in the broadcast.
As an experienced coach, Izumi Minoru naturally sensed this; thus, he instructed the players in the batter’s box and on-deck circle to swing with all their might, to keep pressuring Chiben’s pitcher and force the opposing defenders into mistakes;
Conversely, on the other side, Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School’s young coach Kosaka Shosang wasn’t as quick to react, appearing sowhat at a loss faced with the unexpected crisis, similar to the players on the field; and the experienced baseball club manager Igenka not being a professional responsible for ga affairs, besides attempting verbally to calm his players, couldn’t do much more.
In fact, Waseda’s pressure proved hugely effective—the Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School players on the field clearly hadn’t recovered from the mont of conceding a run, their ntality fluctuated massively, resulting in consecutive errors even with two outs and needing just one more out;
Second batter Manabe Kenta, walked with four balls;
Third batter Kenshu Yasuda, an error on the throw from second to first base.
Previously barren infield now stood full of people; previously empty bases were now all occupied.
In the Koshien stands, the cheers of the audience rose, and the montum of the cheering music beca even more overwhelming than before; aside from Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School alumni supporters above first base silently praying for the baseball gods’ protection to get through the crisis, the eyes of everyone, including neutral spectators, were now focused on ho plate.
Lin Guanglai, here he cos!
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